On The Home Front: Growing Up in Wartime England

For weeks the grownups at home and in the shops had been whispering together. I'd heard the word 'war' more and more often, but if I tried to ask questions, they changed the subject. Mum and Dad only said that they did not want to worry me. They told me I was too young to understand what was happening. They always seemed so serious now. War obviously that meant things would be a lot different.On Sunday, September 3, 1939, at 11:00 A.M., Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. At 11:27 A.M. the first air raid siren wailed across London. We heard its mournful, chilling sound over the wireless, which we listened to all that day. King George spoke to the nation on the wireless. His voice was trembling. At the end of the speech, he announced, 'We are at war.' Hearing these words gave me a funny feeling in my stomach. I was scared!